Mumford and Sons has refused to play future gigs at Bravalla, a huge music festival in Sweden where, over the weekend, 17 women were reported victims of sexual assault.
Multiple women filed police reports during the three-day festival, which took place in Norrkoping. Three of the victims were under age 15 and the majority were 18 and under, with five reports of rape, according to police in Sweden.
The Associated Press, which notes that “police at the Bravalla festival gave out bracelets saying ‘don’t grope,’” reports:
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven described the situation as “totally unacceptable” and said that laws on sexual assault would be tightened.
“We are in the process of reviewing them,” he said in a speech at a political seminar. “It’s also important that we continue to ensure that police, prosecutors and other officials are better equipped to investigate such crimes and actually catch the perpetrators.”
Mumford and Sons announced their boycott of Bravalla in a Facebook post that reads in part:
“Festivals are a celebration of music and people, a place to let go and feel safe doing so. We’re gutted by these hideous reports. We won’t play at this festival again until we’ve had assurances from the police and organizers that they’re doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence.”
A previous music festival in Karlstad had a reported 35 instances of sexual assault; seven men are reportedly being investigated as suspects in those cases.
Image via Getty
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